Secret Oath one to beat but comes back quick in La Troienne
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Secret Oath and Pauline’s Pearl each won Grade 1 races on the 2022 Kentucky Oaks card. Barring a dead heat, that won’t happen again on Oaks Day 2023. Both horses are entered in the Grade 1, $750,000 La Troienne Stakes.
A year ago, Pauline’s Pearl won the La Troienne, her lone Grade 1 victory, and later on the card, Secret Oath captured the Oaks itself. Secret Oath is the fastest and most accomplished horse in the La Troienne. If she gets a decent trip and runs her race, she wins. And trainer Wayne Lukas feels certain Secret Oath is going to run her race.
“We’ve got her better right now than she’s ever been,” Lukas said Wednesday.
Ten fillies and mares are entered in the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne (race 9) and top to bottom the race looks considerably tougher than the version Pauline’s Pearl won. Secret Oath and Pauline’s Pearl are among five Grade 1 winners along with Search Results, Society, and A Mo Reay. The prospect of Friday afternoon rain won’t diminish their chances; all five have won over a wet track.
Secret Oath, an Arrogate filly owned by Briland Farm, lost her five 2022 starts following the Oaks. She was physically immature, Lukas said, not yet ready for the grind of a tough, season-long campaign.
“She’s filled out. She’s beautiful. She’s a different horse now,” said Lukas.
Secret Oath already has turned in two crack performances this season, blasting to a 2 1/2-length victory over top-class Clairiere in the Azeri on March 11 at Oaklawn Park in her 2023 debut. Secret Oath ran a stronger race in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 5 though she lost by a neck, run down in the final strides by Clairiere. Lukas said jockey Tyler Gaffalione moved too soon on the filly, her run waning in deep stretch.
“He knew he’d made a mistake when he came back. She fools the jockeys because her acceleration is so strong when they ask her,” said Lukas.
Secret Oath’s constitution will be tested Friday as she runs back just three weeks after her second straight demanding race. Lukas’s confidence aside, bettors could treat the favorite with a degree of skepticism.
Steve Asmussen reasonably is giving Clairiere more time before her next race, but still has Pauline’s Pearl and promising 4-year-old Society here. Pauline’s Pearl tailed off following her La Troienne, losing twice as the favorite in two lesser races last June and July before going to the sidelines until Jan. 28. Her comeback win in the Houston Ladies Classic looked just fine, but she never was a factor when seventh March 11 in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita.
“Just wasn’t her day,” Asmussen said. “Everything we’ve seen from her here says she’s going to run her race again.”
Pauline’s Pearl can factor at a square price, but front-running Society holds more appeal as a win prospect. Society made massive progress through her 2022 campaign. Connections showed what they thought of the Gun Runner filly running her in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks last July off a modest win in the ungraded Monomoy Girl Stakes. Society lost all chance with a terrible start in the Coaching Club and returned with a powerhouse win in the Charles Town Oaks, followed by a wire-to-wire score in the Grade 1 Cotillion. She ran below form in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland but her defeat there last month in the seven-furlong Madison strictly was a prep for this.
“She is a very keen filly. We thought the Madison would benefit her. If the track is conducive to her running style, she will be very competitive,” Asmussen said.
Rail-drawn Play Hard is the other speed in the race but probably can’t beat Society into the first turn.
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Search Results should slot in just behind that pair from post 2. The 5-year-old excels at a one-turn mile but two turns over 1 1/16 miles falls within her scope.
“She’s really trained very, very well. The question is, is she fit enough, since a lot of these horses have had a race,” said trainer Chad Brown.
Four-year-old A Mo Reay has gone 3 for 3 since being sold at auction and turned over to trainer Brad Cox. She has improved in all three of those starts, and while she beat a lesser group in the Beholder Mile, A Mo Reay hasn’t hit her ceiling, Cox believes.
“The longer stretch here, more distance, should help. Flavien [Prat] got off her last time and said don’t run her this short again. Love the way she’s training,” Cox said.
Classy Edition, Sixtythreecaliber, and Desert Dawn need the top contenders to run below form to have a chance, while the final entrant, Soul of an Angel, has no chance.
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